Chapter 6: What Forty-Seven Thousand Dollars Looks Like
The scholarship letter arrived on a Tuesday.
It came in a cream-colored envelope with the Ellison Educational Trust seal in the top left corner.
Noah brought it in from the mailbox and set it on the kitchen table without opening it, then stood there looking at it like it might disappear if he moved too fast.
"Open it," I said.
"You open it."
"It's addressed to you."
He sat down.
Picked it up.
Put it down again.
"Noah."
"What if it's not enough?" he said.
I sat across from him.
"Enough for what?"
"For everything." He looked up.
"College is expensive.
And we still don't know what's going to happen with the house.
Ruth said the legal process could take months.
And you haven't been able to register for your classes yet because of the financial hold and—"
"Open the letter," I said.
"One thing at a time."
He opened it.
He read it once.
Then he set it flat on the table and pushed it toward me without saying anything.
The scholarship covered four years of tuition at any in-state university.
It also included a supplemental housing allowance.
And at the bottom, in a separate paragraph, there was a note from the trust's board:
*In recognition of exceptional creative work and demonstrated resilience, the Ellison Trust is pleased to offer an additional one-time award of $8,000 to support the immediate needs of the recipient's household.*
I read that paragraph three times.
"That's for now," I said.
"Not for college.
That's for right now."
Noah nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
I put the letter down.
Neither of us said anything for a moment.
"She planned for this," Noah said finally.
"Margaret Ellison.
She planned for the possibility that we'd need help before any legal case was resolved."
"She planned for a lot of things," I said.
My phone buzzed on the counter.
I glanced at it.
It was a number I didn't recognize.
I let it go to voicemail.
Thirty seconds later, it buzzed again.
Same number.
I picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Is this Lily Hendricks?" A man's voice.
Professional.
Careful.
"Yes."
"My name is Daniel Cho.
I'm an assistant to the county district attorney.
I'm calling because we've been attempting to reach you regarding the financial investigation involving Carla Voss Hendricks." A pause.
"We'd like to schedule a time for you and your brother to come in and provide a formal statement.
At your convenience."
I looked at Noah across the table.
He was watching me.
"We can come in this week," I said.
"Thursday morning works well on our end."
"Thursday is fine."
I hung up and set the phone down.
"That was the DA's office," I said.
Noah looked at the scholarship letter.
Then at me.
"It's actually happening."
"It's actually happening," I said.
His phone buzzed next.
He looked at the screen and his expression changed.
"It's Carla," he said.
We both looked at the phone.
It kept buzzing.
"Don't answer it," I said.
He set it face-down on the table.
It buzzed twice more.
Then stopped.
Then a text came through.
Noah turned the phone over and read it.
His face went very still.
He slid the phone across to me.
The message read: *You have no idea what you're starting.
May you like
I have things on your mother that would change how you see her.
Call me back before you do anything you can't undo.*
